Blockchain use cases in media and entertainment are emerging all the time, as the industry aims to tackle its many challenges, with innovative technological solutions. In an environment rife with middlemen, unequal distribution of profits, shifting consumption habits, and multiple inefficiencies, blockchain in media and entertainment is increasingly enabling disintermediation, streamlining digital rights management, and creating a more transparent system for all participants — from content creators to advertisers.
Blockchain in media use cases are also facilitating the creation of new business models that allow the sector to meet the changing needs of consumers and offer innovative solutions to allow them to make usage-based payments. This creates a more content-creator friendly approach by enabling micropayments through automated settlements.
Better yet, thanks to the transparent, immutable records of data that are shared between all parties, blockchain is bringing clarity to previously ambiguous practices where metrics are often subject to collusion. This disruptive technology is finally offering a fair deal for all players in this space while allowing for serious innovations and new business models. Discover the top five blockchain use cases in media and entertainment below:
1. Streamlined Royalty Payments
In 2018, CitiGroup examined the unfair profit distribution in the music industry in the USA. Despite registering an all-time-high spend approaching $43 billion, artists received just 12% of the profits (around $5 billion). Why? Because of the plague of unnecessary intermediaries taking a cut of the revenues at every turn.
Blockchain is proving to be the perfect solution for streamlining and enabling more accurate royalty payments by deploying smart contracts that meet predetermined conditions, such as releasing payments to the right recipient every time their tune is played. This is allowing for a fairer and more efficient system that properly rewards the artists for their work.
In the words of British singer and songwriter Imogen Heap, “We are at an amazing point in history for artists… It’s the ability of artists to have the control and the say of what they do with their music at large.”
2. Micropayments and Usage-Based Payment Models
As media and entertainment consumption habits change, the industry has had to disrupt itself to keep the attention of its audiences. Recent research by Deloitte also found that the COVID-19 pandemic has further influenced the way in which we consume content. While subscriptions to paid streaming services initially rose as consumers began to add and sample services, they are now beginning to cancel subscriptions. This makes for an extremely competitive market in which consumers demand the best value for their time and money.
Both consumer-friendly and efficient, blockchain media use cases like micropayments and usage-based consumption models allow consumers to pay for exactly what they want while using smart contracts to ensure that artists receive payment, creating a win-win situation for all. Consumers can access the bite-size low-value content they seek and content creators are automatically paid without losing chunks of their profits to intermediaries. Moreover, subscription providers can engage users who may not want to commit to recurring subscriptions but are more comfortable making one-off individual payments.
3. Immutable Advertising Engagement Metrics
Advertising fraud cost the industry an astounding $23 billion in 2019 as bot traffic, invalid traffic, and hidden ads all continue to drain advertisers’ pockets resulting in both poor ROI and a frustrating user experience. Fortunately, blockchain in the media and advertising market provides immutable metrics that allow agencies, advertisers, and clients to authentically track and attribute advertising metrics so they can clearly see how their budget is being spent and where it’s generating real clicks.
In fact, from clicks and impressions to lead generation, using blockchain as a shared ledger and universal source of truth guarantees that the data is free from manipulation and fraud. Blockchain is therefore helping all stakeholders to rebuild trust; and advertisers to craft a focused advertising spend that accurately depicts their ROI.
4. Disintermediation
In terms of digital content, blockchain-based marketplaces are eliminating content aggregation and allowing consumers and creators to interact without costly intermediaries. And it’s not before time. The media and entertainment industry remains largely convoluted with multiple middlemen from streaming platforms to content aggregators diluting revenues for all involved.
Thanks to the application of smart contracts, settlements are increasingly being automated while consensus mechanisms are validating data and generating transparent and immutable audit trails for everything from content views to royalty payments. This means that the industry no longer needs to rely on costly intermediaries like collecting bodies and can streamline processes as well as generate significant cost savings.
5. Fraud and Piracy Prevention
Cointelegraph found that piracy in the media and entertainment industry could reach as much as $52 billion by 2022. The high amount of counterfeit copies of content generates huge losses for content creators and artists around the globe. Blockchain use cases in media to prevent piracy are beginning to emerge although they are still in their nascent stages given the complex nature of the issue.
The reason that piracy is so hard to combat is because there is insufficient evidence to understand the reasons behind it. These, according to copyright research body CREATe, can vary from cultural norms to lack of access or even an ingrained cultural belief that the content holds no value.
However, blockchain is already being applied on a small-scale through different measures from facilitating content surveillance to implementing forensic watermarking technology. And as we come to understand more about the motives behind piracy, blockchain could start to emerge as a key tool for reducing its frequency.
The Takeaway
Blockchain use cases in media and entertainment are on the rise. While in certain areas like piracy, there is still room for growth, blockchain is allowing this dynamic sector to reshape itself for a new, more competitive era. Blockchain in media and entertainment is allowing for disintermediation, streamlined royalty payments, micropayments and usage-based payments, all while placing the power back in the hands of content creators and providing a more customer-centric approach. This allows companies in the industry to operate more efficiently, reduce their reliance on intermediaries, increase revenue streams, and open up new business models that give them a competitive edge.
This is why more of the media and entertainment sector’s largest content creators are turning to blockchain solution providers to help them implement custom blockchain solutions. Innovative, tailor-made solutions that enable disintermediation, ensure transparency, drive efficiencies, and generate cost savings.
At Protokol, we can help bring your blockchain media use case to life with our range of blockchain consulting and custom development services that provide everything you need to unlock the potential of blockchain technology for your business. We’ll focus on identifying your organisational challenges and how to leverage blockchain to deliver the best results. We’ll then implement your solution with minimum disruption for maximum ROI.
Discover your blockchain use case today by booking a complimentary video consultation with our blockchain experts and unlock the real value of blockchain for your team or organisation.